1st gen Tacoma Leaf springs

Hey Fellow Tacoma owners so I need some recommendation for rear leaf springs for my 1st gen. My current leaf springs are bending the opposite direction lol and I’m not getting any bounce from rear shocks due to leaf springs I believe, so I was wondering if anyone has ran ARB leaf springs CS046RA/B2 thinking about going with them but open to recommendations and I’m trying not to spend to much money but I’m gonna have this truck till I die so I need it to last till then so let me your recommendation and opinions Thanks

 

By ARB, I assume you mean the Old Man Emu Dakar springs. ARB just bought them, but they're usually referred to as OME.

Those are great springs, and are easily the most popular spring set for our 1st gens.

They seem like the best bang for your buck if you want a lift spring. Those are going to give you like 2.5-3" of lift, though, so I would plan on replacing your coils as well, to match.

If you want to maintain stock height, though, your options are more limited. Maybe General Springs.

Unless you're already riding on the bumpstops from sagging leafs, shocks will have a more dramatic effect on your ride than new springs. So I'd for sure be looking at new shocks.

If you're planning for a lift, and new shocks, I'd go for the OME full kit:

 

Thanks for the advice might as well go all out on suspension more then likely it needs new everything now

 

KINGS

 

If I was going to spend money on Kings I think id rather do it to my 3rd gen Tacoma lol I’m thinking more like Bilstien or ome on my 1st gen

 

Depends on what you plan to do with either vehicle.

I'm certainly not going to throw $3k+ in suspension at my '17 4Runner daily driver street princess.

I'm putting that money into good suspension for the truck that sees dirt and can actually take advantage of the high end suspension.

 

Yeah I’m just want something not cheap but not expensive either with 2.5 to 3 in on my 1st gen with aftermarket UCAs and my 3rd gen I plan to get OME Bp-51s with aftermarket UCAs both trucks sit all week Bc I have a company truck so they don’t go out much but they’re not street princesses either lol

 

I saved up my money for suspension upgrades to my truck since I was unhappy with how it handles and the stock soft leaf springs that droops when it has actual weight in the back. It makes the front of the truck point upwards which makes the headlight aim in the wrong direction. Then the shocks were worn out so I decided to get the OME heavy duty complete suspension kit along with Light Racing under control arms. It was well worth the $2K investment plus installation/alignment. It made my truck handle really well on the highway & streets, but I haven't got to drive it offroad yet.

 

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Did not last on my old truck. Poor customer service when I sent them back to be rebuilt. Rebuilt coilovers were completely shot again after less than 2 years.

 

fox 2.0s seem to be favored over bilsteins for a fraction more of the cost if you were considering 5100s. You get more performance for almost the same amount of $.

just my 2 cents.

 

Sucks you had that experience, however that doesn’t seen to be the norm. I’ve heard plenty of good things about them.

You also don’t have to go straight to King for a requild.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with OME kit I’m completely sold on it really reasonable affordable and reliable kit can’t wait to get mine

 

I also went through 3 pairs of bushings for the bottom mounting bolt. The final set lasted less than a year.

I know everyone goes gaga for Kings on here, but I just think that at a premium price I'd expect them to last longer. So I'd pick something else for a coilover.

 

King doesn't use bushings in the bottom mount, they use bearings and misalignment spacers same as Icon, Fox, etc. The bearings do have to be replaced every 15 - 30k miles or so depending on usage and maintenance. Same interval for rebuilding the coilovers depending on usage.

Performance coilovers have to get rebuilt after awhile it's just the nature of their design. Otherwise a non rebuildable kit like OME or Bilstein is the way to go. Depending on where you live you can get them rebuilt from somewhere other than King, I had a local TW member do mine. Turnaround was only 2 days and $125 to make them good as new. In another ~20k miles I plan on doing it again, it's to be expected with any brand of rebuildable coilover.

If their customer service was poor then that indeed does suck, no excuse for that. I'd recommend getting rebuilds done elsewhere in that case

 

Yeah the pieces in the bottom mount of the shock. I thought that King called them bushings but its the same thing either way. They cost about $30 apiece IIRC. But that's my point- at that pricepoint I wish that they lasted longer.

And yes, I did replace them with Bilstein 5100s and OME 883 springs on that truck. My current truck (and fourth 1st Gen) came with some semi-clapped out Toytec coilovers that I'll have to replace at some point in the next year, but they seem to behave pretty well for now.

 

Bringing this topic back to leaf springs;

If you go with OME Dakar's, expect an initial 3" lift over stock. If your current springs are really bad, the lift may seem like 4" but don't worry, it'll settle within the next 1,500 miles give or take.



Some people put weight in the back of their truck but I found this to be unnecessary.

You also need to address the issue of the brake line, which, is too short if you plan to do any real flexing.



One thing that I wish I had known about prior to installing my Dakar's is, you really need to replace the factory bushing that's pressed in on the front eyelet. This is the source of nearly all the squeaking that'll come from your leaf springs. Replace the set with these, get yourself a quality grease, and go to town on those bushings - I have a set but have yet to install them; one of these days once the weather dries up.

Next you have to rectify the possible issue that you may bottom out or over extend your shocks. Extended bump stops will help to alleviate this -



Last but not least, the last issue you'll run into is having your exhaust collide with your leaf springs. OME sells a kit that'll relocate it or just cut it off like some of us do. Here's the kit - And here's the alternative -



I hope that answers any and all questions you may have had.

 

When I did my 3" lift I installed a set of Deaver leaf springs

 

That’s cool! What set of Deaver leaf springs did you install? The Expedition series or custom made?

 

What are you running up front? I am looking into the OME complete suspension lift kit. From the researching that I have done so far it sounds like I will be fine with the 881 springs which will give me a 2.5" lift up front and the Dakar leafs which should be 2-2.5" in the rear. The only thing that I am still confused on is how level the truck will actually be with this kit and anything else I might be missing?

 

In that picture (and now even) I run Fox 2.5 standard travel coilovers; they come with 600lb Eibach springs with factory preload set for 2" of lift.



I had the necessary rake one would want (no stinkbug) once it was all said and done.

Pretty sure I have an older picture showing the stance -



I did add significant weight since then in the front, center, and back and have kept quite a bit of lift.